Brian Chappatta, Columnist

Larry Fink Fights a Lonely Battle Over Deficits

The BlackRock CEO worries that the U.S. national debt may reach a point of no return.

November 8, 2018 at 4:07 PM UTC

Brian Chappatta is managing editor of Bloomberg News' leveraged finance and distressed debt teams. He was previously managing editor and team leader of its wealth group. Before that he was a Bloomberg Opinion markets and finance columnist and a bonds reporter for Bloomberg News.

“Generally, when you fight with your banker, it’s not a good outcome.”
Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

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While Americans were watching the results of the midterm elections trickle in, the head of the world’s largest asset manager was halfway across the globe warning about the country’s perilous financial situation.

Larry Fink, chief executive officer at BlackRock Inc., said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum1 in Singapore on Wednesday that President Donald Trump and other leaders should be mindful that running up deficits now will have consequences down the line. The U.S. budget gap may surpass $1 trillion as soon as next year, which is already causing the Treasury Department to increase the size of some of its monthly auctions to record levels. That hasn’t worked out so well: On Wednesday, a $19 billion sale of 30-year bonds drew the weakest demand since 2009, as measured by the bid-to-cover ratio.